Allow me to introduce, The Liver!

'Hey man, what's up? Just chillin'!' - The Liver

Lady Liver meets Lady Gaga!

D² and Lady Gaga!

I have been obsessed with Lady Gaga lately, so much so that I have imposed her musical stylings to The D (Dianne who guest blogged recently about her dog Maya enbracing French life!) and to The Petite Didi, also known as The Liver, Manuelita, and finally, her offical name, Olivia.Today, we spent the afternoon together. We hung out until the Big D came back home. We then ate dinner together and for dessert, we watched Lady Gaga's Judas video, which is sheer brillance!

'Well, that is interesting, a dog and leaves. hmmm, interesting indeed!' - The Liver

Both were mesmerized, or at least I would like to think so!

Liver is only 6 months old. She is currently learning to crawl, she has started reading, and understands both French and English. I think she is the most intelligent babes of 2012. Don't they all say that?!

The month of May has several holidays, four to be exact, but should really add two more, in my opinion! May 30th. On this day in 1431, Joan of Arc was put to death. She was burned at the stake for heresy at the age of 19. May 30th happens also to be my birthday. Coincidence?

I have always known that I would end up living in France, it was something I just knew in my bones. When I was younger, I have always loved the biblical stories of the arc angels and warrior saints, who each fought their own battles. And it makes me think... why would God have an army?Couldn't he just say the WORD and BAM, no evil!!! Hmmmm...

Earlier this week, the country celebrated Pentecôte. Pentecôte commenerates the coming of the Holy Spirit to Mother Mary and Jesus' 12 apostles among others, 50 days after Easter. (Penta meaning five) This makes me think of my Mother.

(Mother's Day is right around the corner too, June 3rd, in France.) Today may be my birthday, yes, but it's really my Mom's Day! After having friends who had given birth here in France, I remember their words of pain, fear, and aprehension, their worries and wishes and now their new normal - I think of my mother and what it must have felt like for her - scared and excited to have me! And then I think everything that has happened should have happened and couldn't have happened any other way! So Happy Birthday Mom! and Happy Birthday to me!

Melon and Jambon salad with a kir cassis royal!

Pizza bolognaise au roquetfort! Miam-Nom-Yum!

For my birthday, the sweet husband, rocking my Chuck Norris t-shirt, took me out to my favorite pizza joint in Bordeaux! I started with a kir cassis royal (kear cah-sss-isss) and a melon and jambon salad. I then moved on to my favorite pizza, bolognaise au roquetfort! HEAVEN! I even have leftovers! Yay!!

Tomorrow is my birthday, and now that I embark on another year, I feel good.Lately I have been going to creative workshops, where during the process, I discovered something new about myself everytime.I understand my frustrations, my hang ups, my disposition, and voila, I have come to this conclusion:Everything that happened couldn't have gone any other way, and, well, I was just born that way.The conclusion or voila moment, came to me as I was coming in from my dance class and walked in to find my sweet husband and our furry baby in the bathroom. He was checking her coat for critters and asked me if I thought someone had cut off a portion of her tail. I told him no.

Cachou came to us when she was about 3 months old. Someone abandoned her on the side of the road out in the suburbs. Fast forward to today, having 'The Cash' has been priceless! Stupid dog! So, back to the question if someone had cut off her tail. I said, "No, she was just born that way." Then, I started singing the song of the same name by Lady Gaga.Then, I jumped in shower and as I was there, inspiration struck -- VOILA! It just made sense, I was born this way. It took a weight off my shoulders and I began to cry. I cried because I was joyful, not sad. Everything in that shower moment became clear, like someone erased all the pollution, and I was happy.

I was happy.I am happy.The Voila effect (voir la = look at that! look there! It's there!) refers to the common human experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem or concept. The Voila! effect is also known as the eureka effect, which is named after the myth that the Greek polymath Archimedes, having discovered how to measure the volume of an irregular object, leaped out of a public bath, and ran home naked shouting "eureka".(Remind me to visit Greece soon!! Afterall, it is the birthplace of democracy... naked people, bonus!)The Gods blessed mewith this tool, now I have to use love and good judgement to make great choices! Oh, why do the Gods curse me?!!!I have hoped that you can make sense of what makes sense to me, (if that makes sense!)and if not, that's cool too!

For my birthday, I toast to you and yours - for good health, good times, and good tunes - may the Force be with you! ALWAYS. tchin-tchin!Let them eat cake!

Cathedrale Saint Andre - Place Peyberland - Bordeaux

Mother is the name of God on the lips and hearts of all children.

The month of May has several holidays, four to be exact. Today, we celebrate Pentecôte. This day commenerates the coming of the Holy Spirit to Mother Mary and Jesus' 12 apostles among others, 50days after Easter. (Penta meaning five)

Outside my window as I type, I hear children playing. Mothers are calling for them or telling them to Arrête - meaning Stop it! and I smell food being thrown on the grill.

As for me, I am still in my pajamas at one in the afternoon, figuring out what to have for lunch, and being too lazy to ride my bike a mile away to see if the grocery store is open, because it is a holiday afterall!

But, most of all, I think of my Mother! Mother's Day is right around the corner too, June 3rd, in France. One this day of Pentacôte, I will reflect on being one with the spirit that connects us (you know, The Force, yes I re-watched Star Wars yesterday, every scene is more awe inspiring and imaginative than any movie to date - FAVORITE MOVIE EVER) andthink of my Mother, who loves me more than all the stars in the skies and all of the moons of all the multi-verses, just wish I would always remember that! I'm going to call her today and write out a Mother's Day card to send out tomorrow.

The owners of this bar in downtown Bordeaux are some of best people in this city! They are kind and loving and hard working, and they know how to kick back and just enjoy the ride! So, if you are ever in my city and wanted a pint, I suggest The Houses of Parliament. I'll even meet you there! Until then, Jennyxoxoxxo

As you may or may not know, I am a teacher here in France. I teach English and I also teach tribal belly dance! Many of my guy friends back home always ask about French girls and what they are like... well, they are like every woman - beautiful!!!! This photo was taken on my last day of class, the ladies range from 18 - 45! Enjoy!!!

Bonjour de Bordeaux! On this particular day, after having a marathon lunch with the ladies, we always take a walk around the city to help our food digest and finally cool off with some ice cream. This particular place is called Amore, I think, which is located on Rue Saint Catherine (the largest pedestrian shopping walk in France) puts a flowery twist on their presentation! Instead of just a scoop of ice cream, they present your cone in the shape of a rose! It's beautiful and TASTY! Couldn't ask for anything better - unless of course, if it was FREE, but that's another thing! Living in France, you have to look at things in a different light. France is beautiful for me everyday, so it is only polite to be beautiful for her. The French have this flair for making art out of everyday experiences.

Here is food for thought: take 5 bucks. You could go to a fast food restaurant and choke down a hot dog and fries OR you can take that same 5 bucks, go to a deli, get a couple of slices turkey or ham or roast beef, your favorite cheese, perhaps a cupcake, and a can of something to drink and probably have some change left over. The experience is different, but it's still the same 5 bucks! Invest in yourself!!! Too long have we, Americans, and I speak for myself here too, get wrapped up in the rat race that we don't see or notice the beauty around us! Call it Hippy Talk if you will, however ask yourself this question... When wad the last time you were REALLY good to yourself?! The French have this wonderful ability to enjoy the simple pleasures without being gluttons! France has taught me to ENJOY the experience, even though at times it can be difficult, but that's life!!! C'est la Vie! This week, I encourage you to live your life with flair, add some art to your experience and by all means ENJOY it!

You can't always get what you want!

Hello I'm Gwen! I was stiched together from a favorite sock and funky scraps!

Today, Mick Jagger came to mind. Why?

I went to a creative workshop where I had to sew a sock monkey.

I couldn't do it. So I made Gwen instead! On my list of 'what I want to learn to do' is to learn how to sew. It frustrates me to no end that I am unable to do a simple task that others seem to do so effortlessly. I wasn't taught at a young age this basic skill, so I shouldn't expect to be spin straw into gold! As Jagger says, 'You can't always get what you want!' To change the subject for a little bit, don't worry it will come back around. On that day, I was enraptured by a young child--The Liver, who made me cry!

The Liver!!!!

As I was carrying her, this 6 month old, hugged me so tightly that I felt PURE LOVE! It was as if The Goddess herself hugged me!

"but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need!"

The Liver, Mick, and Gwen gave me exactly what I needed and everything was right in the world!

The sweet husband read this book about 2 years ago and just recently told me about her.I didn't even know who she was until a week ago, sad but true, but that was a week ago, now it's happy and true! Enjoy!

The people of France have decided that François Hollande is the new President of the Republic. The announcement came at 8pm sharp announcing the defeat of incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy to the socialist candidate, François Hollande.In Hollande's acceptance speech, he discussed old French values, particularly education, which has a double meaning in French. Education meaning just that, schooling for all, however education also means savoir-vivre or how to behave or how to live.During the race, then Président Nicolas Sarkozy stated that if Hollande were to win, he would ruin everything in 2 days of taking office. To that I say, we shall see.

In the meantime, at the exact moment I write this, from a direct feed from Paris, I hear accordians play the tune La Vie en Rose as the lively crowd chants the lyrics. Play the below video to hear what I hear!

Frenchified for Life

is a fabulous little lifestyle blog about truly embracing French life!

​My intent is to simply inspire you to create something unique and beautiful in your everyday life. The French have this wonderful and annoying habit of seeing the world through rose colored glasses, might as well learn something from them!

That said, I lift my glass to you!

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By the way, I mention the name Cachou (or The Cash) a lot, I'm referring to her...